Hobby Center, The Wiz, April/May 2025

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THE HOBBY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

DEAR FRIENDS,

Welcome to The Wiz – a magical revival production of a groundbreaking classic. The Wiz returns “home” to stages across America in an all-new tour, bringing this important musical to theaters across the country this season.

This summer, the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts will serve as host for the inaugural Fade to Black Arts Festival Kick-Off Ceremony on June 8, 2025. The Fade to Black Arts Festival is a new idea for Houston with organizers aiming to create a major multi-disciplinary arts festival that showcases the work of African American artists and storytellers.

Bringing together a broad spectrum of artmakers and arts organizations from across the region, Fade to Black takes place from June 8 to 14, 2025 featuring a week-long celebration of performances, classes and workshops for our community. Visit fadetoblackfest.com for the most up-to-date information as event schedules are finalized in the weeks ahead.

On June 8th, the Hobby Center campus will be activated across our spaces with free, family-friendly activities and performances. The grand opening culminates with a performance called Women to Watch featuring Houston-based female R&B artists in a program in Zilkha Hall. Tickets available at thehobbycenter.org.

Thanks, as always, for being part of a magical community of arts audiences. We hope you enjoy the performance, and we see you back on the Hobby Center campus soon.

Sincerely,

The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts

Mark Folkes, President and CEO
The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts
Al Torres
Photography
Opening number, Treme from The WizSheherazade as Glinda, Dana Cimone as Dorothy and Amitria Fanae as Addaperle in The Wiz First National Tour 2025 -
Photo by Jeremy Daniel

AMBER RUFFIN ON ADAPTING THE WIZ FOR 2024:

“IT’S

NOT LIKE DOROTHY’S HOLDING AN IPAD”

Amber Ruffin remembers her first time watching the Sidney Lumet movie The Wiz, in the basement of the family home. “On the big TV. We had one big TV,” she told Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek on “The Broadway Show.”

As Ruffin explained, as a young Black girl, The Wiz—an all-Black take on The Wizard of Oz—”just expanded how you thought about what entertainment could be.”

Young Amber was also struck by the fact that her whole family had memorized every moment—clearly they were seeing it for the umpteenth time. “And then you come to find out, if you go to almost any house in America, everybody knows every part of The Wiz.”

Today, Ruffin—one of the Tony-nominated book writers of the musical Some Like it Hot—is part of the creative team for the Broadway revival and national tour of The Wiz, adapting the book originally penned by white librettist William F. Brown. “I feel like my task is to bring The Wiz into 2024,” said Ruffin. “It’s not like Dorothy’s holding an iPad…”

One of Ruffin’s tasks has been weeding out Brown’s on-the-nose ’70s street slang (sample line: “Man, I have seen me some spaced-out garbage cans in my day…!”) to fashion something more timeless. “I wanted to write one that kids can do 20 years from now, that you wouldn’t read it and go, this is from [the 2020s].”

Alan Mingo Jr. as The Wiz in Meet The Wizard in The Wiz First National Tour 2025 - Photo by Jeremy Daniel

Audiences’ familiarity with the material is a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, audiences who already love The Wiz are going to be geared up to have a good time. On the other hand, well…

“Yesterday I was like, Oh God, everyone’s going to be so crazy because we changed this and this…” said Ruffin. “But I hope people are going to love it.”

One of the major changes is a Dorothy that’s roughly the same age as her strawfilled, metallic and furry companions on the Yellow Brick Road. As Ruffin and the show’s director Schele Williams have determined, they’re a ragtag group of friends, not a girl and her weird uncles.

“It really changed everything,” said Ruffin. “For her to be a young Black girl leading these people—that’s fantastic. We wanted her to be the natural leader that she is.”

“And then, in the end of our version, she becomes president.” A beat. “I’m just kidding.”

For more information and features, head to Broadway.com.

Above: The Wiz Ensemble in Emerald City Ballad in The Wiz First National Tour 2025. Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Left: D. Jerome as Scarecrow performing Slide Some Oil in The Wiz First National Tour 2025. Photo by Jeremy Daniel

THESE TWO HIGH SCHOOL ROOMMATES ONCE DREAMED OF REVIVING PARADE.

NOW THEY’VE

DONE

THAT — AND MORE

Tony-winning director Michael Arden and designer Dane Laffrey collaborated on Parade to miraculous effect.

In the fall of 1998, Michael Arden traveled from his hometown in Midland, Texas, to Michigan’s Interlochen Academy of the Arts. In preparing to attend the prestigious arts boarding school that spring, Arden needed to audition for the upcoming shows. While he was visiting, he recalled, “I saw a production of The Miracle Worker and the sound design was done by a guy named Dane Laffrey. I had never heard sound like that.” When Arden actually started Interlochen in the second semester of his junior year, he sought out Laffrey, the only design student in their class. As Laffrey said, “There was some kind of immediate connection.” The two roomed together their senior year and a partnership was born.

At the height of their youth, at the zenith of creative possibility, Arden and Laffrey fed off each other. “As young people starting training in the arts and being exposed to so much media, we were developing and sorting out our aesthetic,” Arden said. Laffrey added, “We developed an ongoing dialogue about whatever we were thinking about artistically or wanting to unpack or untangle or explore — what we were watching or listening to that was interesting.”

“We were able to have these Sophoclean debates in our dorm room,” Arden remembered. “We would lay across the bunk beds together and talk about the things that inspired us.” One of those? The cast album of Broadway’s original Parade. That musical recording was released on April 27, 1999, and Arden brought it to Interlochen. “I had never heard [it] before,” Laffrey said. “I was really blown away.”

Fast-forward: Arden won a Tony Award for his direction of Broadway’s first revival of Parade, a production for which Laffrey designed the set. Not to mention Parade was their second collaboration that season: The two also teamed up on the solo adaptation of A Christmas Carol, conceived by Arden. He co-wrote the script and directed the production, which starred Jefferson Mays; Laffrey designed the set — and earned a Tony nomination for it. For the 2024-2025 Broadway season, the two have paired up again for the original musical Maybe Happy Ending.

As a director and scenic designer, Arden and Laffrey haven’t yet worked on Broadway without the other. Together, they have created fresh, acclaimed revivals, including a Spring Awakening with Deaf West Theatre and a Tonywinning revival of Once on This Island.

Whereas in some creative partnerships, each individual fills in the gaps of the other, Arden and Laffrey don’t rely on one another for skills they don’t have. Instead, they depend on each other to elevate the ideas they already do. “We do really come to things together a lot,” Arden said. “I feel like there’s no hardand-fast ‘I bake the cake, you do the icing.’ It’s really a back-and-forth dialogue.” They’ve just traded in bunk beds for the tech tables of Broadway.

Arden considers himself a spatial director, concerned with the complete stage picture. Laffrey confirmed this, calling his colleague “deeply design-driven.” “It is the first conversation,” Laffrey said. “Before other collaborators are involved

and, of late, before things are written completely, we are having conversations about the nature of what the event is and how it might sit in space.”

Yet, since Arden is also an actor, he is simultaneously deeply textual. “I vacillate between grand gesture (what is the eye taking in all at once?) while also thinking about tiny, specific acting beats and moments,” he said. It’s about zooming in and zooming out simultaneously.

But the starting point for any production, Arden said, is the answer to the question: “What’s at the core of what the story is trying to grapple with or articulate?”

For A Christmas Carol, that answer was isolation and emptiness. At the center is “this man who is alone, who has shut out everything from his heart,” Arden described. The next question: “How can we begin to do that physically?”

Exposing and defining the space was crucial for Parade.

“Michael’s impulse was to keep us small,” Laffrey said. “‘I want to do it on a postage stamp,’ he said. ‘Really compressed.’”

“Even when we had dreamed about doing Parade back in our dorm room, I always said, ‘10 foot by 10 foot, I want to do everything there,’” Arden recounted. “It’s all because the scenes are, for the most part, really intimate, human scenes, and I wanted that to be contained so that we could examine it.”

From Arden’s high school fantasy to his production at City Center Encores! to the Broadway transfer and tour, examination and transparency were the guiding principles of Parade, a musical portraying the trials of Leo Frank, a Jewish man wrongfully charged with the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl and later strung up by a lynch mob.

“Even the artwork for City Center — that big finger pointing — [communicated] that idea of ‘Examine this! Look at this thing that we have done that we are all complicit in,’” said Arden. That was also the motivation to include projections of historical photography of the real people surrounding the Frank case. “We wanted the sense of evidence.”

At the end of the day, Arden and Laffrey aim to convey stories in a cohesive way, in which direction and design work together to say: This is what we think. How does that make you feel?

But that question is exponentially more powerful due to the combination of their ideas and efforts. They share an aesthetic, the one they developed during those Sophoclean debates, but their individual perspectives and experiences still push them to challenge one another. It’s the kind of partnership, and friendship, two Interlochen kids could have only dreamed of.

Because with Arden and Laffrey, it’s the collaboration that makes the masterpiece.

Parade plays the Hobby Center July 15-20. For more in-depth interviews, up-to-date news and show reviews on Broadway, visit BroadwayNews.com.

Talia Suskauer and Max Chernin in the National Tour of PARADE, photo by Joan Marcus

CAST

(in order of appearance)

Dorothy DANA CIMONE

Aunt Em KYLA JADE

Tornado.

MAATI KHEPRIMENI ANGAZA, SAI ANTHONY, JOSEPH ARMON BOYD, GREGORY HAMILTON, MORIAH PERRY, KAMEREN WHIGMAN, CHANSE WILLIAMS

Townspeople ................ MAATI KHEPRIMENI ANGAZA, SAI ANTHONY, JOSEPH ARMON BOYD, LAWRENCE DANDRIDGE, CYNIAH ELISE, GREGORY HAMILTON, MAYA IMANI, MORIAH PERRY, JOSH WALKER, LYN WEBBER, KAMEREN WHIGMAN, CHANSE WILLIAMS

Addaperle AMITRIA FANAE’

Glinda SHEHERAZADE

Yellow Brick Road

MAATI KHEPRIMENI ANGAZA, LAWRENCE DANDRIDGE, GREGORY HAMILTON, MAYA IMANI

Scarecrow ELIJAH AHMAD LEWIS

Crows SAI ANTHONY, JOSEPH ARMON BOYD, MORIAH PERRY, KAMEREN WHIGMAN

Tinman D. JEROME

Lion CAL MITCHELL

Evillene KYLA JADE

Lord High Underling .................................................................................. EPHRAIM TAKYI, LEON RAY Poppies .......................................MAATI KHEPRIMENI ANGAZA, CYNIAH ELISE, AMITRIA FANAE’, MAYA IMANI, MORIAH PERRY, LYN WEBBER,CHANSE WILLIAMS

Kalidahs ................................................................... JOSEPH ARMON BOYD, GREGORY HAMILTON, JOSH WALKER, KAMEREN WHIGMAN, Ozians MAATI KHEPRIMENI ANGAZA, SAI ANTHONY, JOSEPH ARMON BOYD, LAWRENCE DANDRIDGE, CYNIAH ELISE, AMITRIA FANAE’, GREGORY HAMILTON, MAYA IMANI, MORIAH PERRY, JOSH WALKER, LYN WEBBER, KAMEREN WHIGMAN, CHANSE WILLIAMS

Announcer (Emerald City) SAI ANTHONY

Gatekeeper 1 AMITRIA FANAE’

Gatekeeper 2 LAWRENCE DANDRIDGE

The Wiz ALAN MINGO JR.

The Wiz’s Back-Up Singers CYNIAH ELISE, LYN WEBBER

Duke Low Underling ........................................................................................................... CYNIAH ELISE Guards ..............................................................................AMITRIA FANAE’, LAWRENCE DANDRIDGE Winkies .......................... MAATI KHEPRIMENI ANGAZA, SAI ANTHONY, JOSEPH ARMON BOYD, GREGORY HAMILTON, MAYA IMANI, MORIAH PERRY, JOSH WALKER, LYN WEBBER, KAMEREN WHIGMAN, CHANSE WILLIAMS

SWINGS

ALIYAH CALDWELL, KAIYLA GROSS, JESSE JONES, LEON RAY, EPHRAIM TAKYI, MIKAYLA WHITE

UNDERSTUDIES

Standbys and understudies never substitute for the listed performers unless a specific announcement is made at the time of appearance.

For Dorothy—CYNIAH ELISE, LYN WEBBER, MIKAYLA WHITE.

For Scarecrow—SAI ANTHONY, LEON RAY.

For Tinman—EPHRAIM TAKYI, JOSH WALKER.

For Lion—LEON RAY.

For The Wiz—LAWRENCE DANDRIDGE, JOSH WALKER.

For Aunt Em/Evillene—AMITRIA FANAE’, KAIYLA GROSS.

For Glinda—CYNIAH ELISE, KAIYLA GROSS.

For Addaperle—KAIYLA GROSS, MAYA IMANI.

DANCE CAPTAIN JESSE JONES

ASSISANT DANCE CAPTAIN ALIYAH CALDWELL

Dana Cimone
Alan Mingo Jr.
Sheherazade
Kyla Jade
Elijah Ahmad Lewis
D. Jerome Cal Mitchell
Maati Kheprimeni Angaza Sai Anthony
Joseph Armon Boyd
Aliyah Caldwell
Lawrence Dandrige
Cyniah Elise
Amitria Fanae’
Kaiyla Gross
Gregory Hamilton
Maya Imani
Jesse Jones Moriah Perry
Leon Ray Ephraim Takyi
Josh Walker
Lyn Webber
Kemeren Whigham
Mikayla White Chanse Williams

MUSICAL NUMBERS

ACT I

“Overture” ............................................................................................................... Orchestra “Soon As I Get Home (Reprise)” ............................................................................. Dorothy “The Feeling We Once Had” .................................................................. Aunt Em, Dorothy “He’s The Wiz” Glinda, Townspeople “Soon As I Get Home” Dorothy “You Can’t Win” Scarecrow, Crows “Ease On Down The Road #1” Dorothy, Scarecrow “Slide Some Oil To Me” Tinman “Ease On Down The Road #2” Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman “Mean Ole Lion” Lion “Ease On Down The Road #3”.................................. Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman, Lion “Be A Lion” ................................................................... Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman, Lion

ACT II

“The Emerald City” ............................................................ Orchestra, Announcer, Ozians Music by Timothy Graphenreed “Meet The Wizard”....................................................Wiz, Wiz’s Back-Up Singers, Ozians “Meet The Wizard (Reprise)” ..................................Wiz, Wiz’s Back-Up Singers, Ozians “What Would I Do If I Could Feel” ............................ Tinman, Dorothy, Scarecrow, Lion “We’re Gonna Make It” .............................................. Scarecrow, Dorothy, Tinman, Lion “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News” ............................................... Evillene, Winkies “Wonder, Wonder Why” Dorothy “Everybody Rejoice” Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman, Lion, & Company Music and Lyrics by Luther Vandross “Y’all Got It” .......................................................................................................... Wiz, Ozians “Believe In Yourself” Glinda “Home” Dorothy

ORCHESTRA

Conductor/Keyboard 1: VICTOR SIMONSON

Assistant Conductor/Keyboard 2: BRANDON WADDLES

Bass: JONATHAN MICHEL; Drums: JOEL “JAY-RAY” ANDERSON; Guitar: CHRIS HANFORD II

LOCAL MUSICIANS

Reed 1 — GRAHAM TOBIN; Reed 2 — BOBBY WALZEL; French Horn — WADE BUTIN; Trumpet — ROBBY YARBER; Trombone — BRIAN LOGAN; Percussion — TERRY MCKINNEY

Music Coordinator: MICHAEL AARONS, M2 MUSIC

Associate Music Coordinator: ANJA WOOD

Music Preparation: RUSSELL BARTMUS, NATHAN SEROT

For 7th Avenue Music Service

Keyboard and Percussion Programmer: RANDY COHEN; SAM STAROBIN

THERE WILL BE ONE 20-MINUTE INTERMISSION

The use of any recording device, either audio or video, and the taking of photographs, either with or without flash, is strictly prohibited. Please turn off all electronic devices such as cellular phones, pagers and watches.

WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST

DANA CIMONE (Dorothy). Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Dana is thrilled and deeply honored to make her debut as Dorothy. With her boundless passion, remarkable talent, and vibrant energy, she aspires to enchant audiences and bring this iconic character to life. Dana extends her heartfelt gratitude to her mother, whose unwavering support and early introduction to theatre has been the foundation of her journey. This performance is dedicated to her family, her dreams, and to every young heart inspired by the magic of storytelling.

ALAN MINGO JR. (The Wiz) will be reprising his role as The Wiz from the Broadway revival production. Starred as “Lola” in the Broadway and Canadian productions of Kinky Boots (Dora Award Winner, Best Leading Actor). Broadway credits include: Disney’s The Little Mermaid and RENT. Broadway tour credits include: Shrek the Musical, Hairspray, and Disney’s The Lion King. Select TV and film credits: “DC’s Doom Patrol,” I’m Not Gay A Musical, “The Deuce,” and “Tales of the City.” UMD and UC, Irvine alum. IG: @AlanMingojr

SHEHERAZADE (Glinda). Broadway tour debut! Theatre: Blest Be The Tie (NYC), Mama, I Want To Sing (NYC/Japan), Antigone in Ferguson. Music: Cynthia Erivo, Ed Sheeran, Cher, Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick, H. E. R., Karen Clark-Sheard, Tweet. Tour: Christina Aguilera, Chaka Khan, Gregory Porter, Darlene Love, Harlem Gospel Choir. TV/Film: “The Tonight Show,” “GMA,” “The View,” “Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” American, Also. Lesson 2. Campaign - Seven Mothers, Pyer Moss, American Also Love and Light through the gift of SONG! @sherrimusiq

KYLA JADE (Aunt Em / Evillene) is thrilled to be making her national Broadway tour debut in The Wiz. A Nashville, TN resident, recording artist, and producer captivated audiences worldwide with powerful performances of “You Don’t Own Me” and “This Is Me” becoming a top finalist on NBC’s “The Voice.” She is a sought-after vocal arranger, contractor, and BGV for many recording artists, major television networks, and award shows. 2025 is full of new experiences and new music from Kyla Jade! @kylasings

ELIJAH AHMAD LEWIS / EAL (Scarecrow) is a multi-award-winning artist. Broadway: Tony Award-winning Ain’t Too Proud, Motown The Musical. Tours: Ain’t Too Proud 1st Nat, Motown The Musical 1st and 2nd Nat, Mama (NYC/Japan), I Want To Sing! Film/TV: Mama, I Want To Sing!; America; B-Boy Blues; “Power Book III: Raising Kanan”. Music: SZA, Usher, Ariana Grande, Uncle James “JT” Taylor, Cissy Houston, Madonna. Thanks: family, team, all WIZ shoulders we stand on.

New album “ENERGY AND LOVE” and all music available under “EAL.” Ken Wydro this is for you. @elijah.ahmad.lewis, eal360.com

D. JEROME (Tinman). All glory to God. Born Devonté Jerome Wells in WinstonSalem, NC. UNCG ‘14. His breakthrough came in The Lord Will Make a Way with Ann Nesby and others. Broadway: MJ The Musical. Tours: Hamilton. TV/Film: Haunted Mansion, “TURN”, “My Big Fat Fabulous Life.” Regional: Hairspray, The Color Purple, Dreamgirls (Best Supporting Actor - 2016). Called a “formidable triple-threat,” after his appearance with George Faison and Debbie Allen. Thanks to Dave, Duane, Leslie, Margo and Noel. Love you, Mom! @d.jerome_

CAL MITCHELL (Lion) is so excited to be making his National tour debut with THE WIZ! Off-Broadway: The White Rose (Theatre Row),The Lieutenant (York theatre) Regional: The Color Purple (Denver Center Of The Performing Arts), Songs For A New World (Gateway Playhouse/Village Theatre), LINK Program (2021). He sends so much love to his DGRW Family, and to the audience. To my family; you helped me believe in myself, and never let me forget who I was, this is to you<3. IG: thecalmitchell, TikTok:thecalebmitchell MAATI KHEPRIMENI ANGAZA (Ensemble). National tour debut! She’s graced The Javits Center, CitiField, and more. Off-Broadway: Breakin’ NYC. Frank Sinatra School of the Arts and Temple University alum. Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, Maati thanks her family, friends and agents at Bloc!

SAI ANTHONY (Ensemble, u/s Scarecrow). Hailing from Jacksonville, Florida, Sai Anthony has captivated audiences across the globe, performing aboard renowned cruise lines. Now, he’s thrilled to bring the timeless magic of The Wiz to life on a stage near you! @Sai.anthony

JOSEPH ARMON BOYD (Ensemble) is a native of Chester, South Carolina, and graduate of the University of South Carolina. Credits: Pepsi LVI Super Bowl Halftime Show (Field Cast), StepAfrika! Black History Month Tour (Guest Artist) and UNBOUND Dance Company (Company Dancer). @thejosepharmon

ALIYAH CALDWELL (Swing, Assistant Dance Captain). 1st National tour: Tina – The Tina Turner Musical Swing: Norwegian Cruise Lines. Hairspray: Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Ava Fields Dance Ministry Alum. Baltimore School for the Arts Alum. BFA from Towson University. #TheDancingZeta. 410/443 Represent!

LAWRENCE DANDRIDGE (Ensemble, u/s The Wiz). Excited to join The Wiz family! Professional credits include: Pippin, tick, tick, BOOM!, Rock and Roll Man, Passing Strange,

Ain’t Too Proud 1st National tour, Sister Act 2nd National Tour. Proud co-founder of Aurway Repertory Theatre in Newark, NJ. @that_musicman

CYNIAH ELISE (Ensemble, u/s Dorothy, u/s Glinda). In 2020, Cyniah captured the hearts of America on “American Idol.” Cyniah has participated in numerous organizations and churches. Regional credits: The Wiz, A Chorus Line, Hairspray, A Song For Adaeze, Dreamgirls, and The Preachers Wife. All socials: @cyniah.Elise

AMITRIA FANAE’ (Ensemble, Addaperle, u/s Aunt Em/Evillene). Awarded Best Actress in a Musical from Broadway World for Celie in The Color Purple at Theatre West End. Select credits: Dream Girls, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Godspell, Smokey Joe’s Café, Shrek. Special thanks to Mom, Muhammad, family and friends. amitriafanae.com @amitriafanae

KAIYLA GROSS (Swing, u/s Addaperle, u/s Aunt Em/Evillene, u/s Glinda) (she/her). DC Area: Little Shop of Horrors, A Christmas Carol, The Color Purple, RENT, Beehive: the 60’s Musical, Museum of the Bible: Amazing Grace. Regional: Kinky Boots, Miss You Like Hell, Ragtime, A Christmas Carol. IG: @iamgette_

GREGORY HAMILTON (Ensemble). Hailing from High Point, NC and University of North Carolina School of the Arts graduate. Accomplished dancer in contemporary and classical forms. Credits: Gaspard&Dancers, Jose Limon Dance, Metropolitan Opera House and EVIDENCE.

MAYA IMANI (Ensemble, u/s Addaperle) (she/ her) is honored to join the company of this iconic show! Previous credits: Mean Girls 1st Nat’l tour (Ensemble/Janis u/s), Anastasia (Bucks County Playhouse), 42nd Street (Maltz Jupiter; Anytime Annie). @_maya_imani_, maya-imani.com

JESSE JONES (Swing, Dance Captain). Broadway and National tour: Beetlejuice the Musical. Regional: The Little Mermaid (Jetsam), La Cage aux Folles (Jacob), Shrek (Donkey), Macbeth (Choreographer), Swing!, Dreamgirls, In The Heights, The Cher Show TV: “Dance Masters” (PBS). @jessejdance

MORIAH PERRY (Ensemble). National tour debut! Most recently: Cabaret (Texas) at Downtown Cabaret Theatre. Moriah is extremely grateful for the Lord, Mom, Dad, family, friends, and The Norwalk Conservatory of the Arts for their encouragement and love.

LEON RAY (Swing, u/s Scarecrow, u/s Lion) hails from North Carolina where he received a BFA in Musical Theatre from Western Carolina University. Recent credits include: Shrek the Musical (Ensemble, Donkey Understudy), Tiana’s Crawfish Crooners (Band Leader) and The Color Purple Audio Experience (Bobby). @Leon_Ray__

EPHRAIM TAKYI (Swing, u/s Tinman) is thrilled to be on the road with this spectacular show! National Tour: Tina – The Tina Turner Musical. Regional: Hangar, WPPAC, Weathervane, and more. W&M alum. He is grateful to his family, friends, and Stalwart Talent for their support! @ephraimtak

JOSH WALKER (Ensemble, u/s Tin Man, u/s The Wiz) is a true artist from NJ! Currently writing an original musical called The Last Dance! Beyond excited to join this incredible group of artists in The Wiz! They will continue to fight for life, love, peace and freedom through art!

LYN WEBBER (Ensemble, u/s Dorothy). National tour debut! SC native and AMDA alum. Previous credit: Disney’s Festival of the Lion King (Zawadi). Love and thanks first to MOM, NY chosen family & Bobbie @TEG MGMT. for all their support.

KAMEREN WHIGHAM (Ensemble). A Fort Lauderdale native, began dance training at eight and attended performing arts schools. A Dillard High graduate, he earned a BFA in Dance from UArts, performed with PHILADANCO!, and appeared in Tyler Perry’s A Jazzman’s Blues

MIKAYLA WHITE (Swing, u/s Dorothy). National tour debut! NYC: School of Rock. Regional: Beautiful (Little Eva). Gratitude to The Wiz Team and Tara Rubin Casting! Thanks to her family and friends for their endless love! Rep: Hudson Artists IUMT ’25 Psalms 46:5. @mikaylawhiteee

CHANSE WILLIAMS (Ensemble). National tour debut! Recently in Jelly’s Last Jam, Encores! at New York City Center. Pace University and Jacob’s Pillow alum. Chanse thanks God, her family, friends, and wonderful agents at BLOC, all of whom she wouldn’t be here without. @chanse.williams WILLIAM F. BROWN (1928-2019) (Book) is a Tony Award-nominated and Drama Desk Award winner of The Wiz, one of the most successful musicals ever to come to Broadway and a winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical of the Year. Other Broadway credits include The Girl in the Freudian Slip (author); New Faces of 1968 (head writer); and A Broadway Musical (book). Off-Broadway/ regional credits include Twist, How to Steal an Election, Damon’s Song, and The Nutley Papers. He has written and illustrated five books, as well as illustrating six others. Former President of the Theatre Artists Workshop of Connecticut.

CHARLIE SMALLS (1943-1987) (Music & Lyrics) began playing music at the age of 5 and by age 6 had earned a music scholarship to what is now the Henry Street Settlement. He went to Juilliard at age 11, staying until he graduated in 1961. Mr. Smalls first adapted The Wizard of Oz musical into The Wiz, setting the tone for this iconic show, and winning him two Tony Awards and a Drama Desk Award

in 1975 as well as a Grammy Award for Best Theater Album in 1976. He also composed for film scores for Drum and The Wiz. Mr. Smalls earned another Grammy in 1981 for his song “That’s What Miracles Are All About” on the Grammy Award-winning album to the Broadway show Lena Horne: The Lady & Her Music. He contributed two songs to the Grammy Award-winning album Lena Horne: The Lady & Her Music on Broadway. His legacy lives on as he remains an important and influential African-American voice.

AMBER RUFFIN (Additional Materials) is a Tony, Emmy and WGA Award-nominated writer. She’s written for “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” “Detroiters,” “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” “Drunk History,” the Emmys, Golden Globes and Tonys. Ruffin is the New York Times bestselling author of You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey. She co-wrote the most Tony Award-nominated musical of 2022, Some Like it Hot.

SCHELE WILLIAMS (Director). Broadway: The Wiz, The Notebook (co-director). Upcoming: Disney’s revival of Aida and Hidden Figures (Disney). Other Broadway Rent (assoc. choreographer), Motown: The Musical (assoc. director), Aida (OBC) Schele is the author of the children’s book Your Legacy: A Bold Reclaiming of Our Enslaved History (recipient of the 2022 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor). Followed by Your Legacy Begins, published in May of 2024. Williams is committed to cultivating work with authentic representation on stage and off. She received the 2024 Drama League Founders awarded for excellence in Directing. Schele dedicates this production to her daughters Sayla and Sasha.

JAQUEL KNIGHT (Choreographer) is a multifaceted artist known for groundbreaking work in choreography, directing and entrepreneurship. An awardwinning choreographer, JaQuel gained global fame at 18 for choreographing Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.” He and his artistry shine in Beyonce’s “Homecoming,” Shakira’s Super Bowl performance, NERD and BeatsByDre “Lemon” Campaign, as well as well as Megan’s “Body” video, and collaborations with artists like Kanye West. As a director, he has led projects for Pharrell, Megan Thee Stallion, and more. JaQuel is driven by innovation, founding The JaQuel Knight Foundation to empower young artists and protect their rights. With visionary pursuits and passion, JaQuel continues to shape the industry’s future.

JOSEPH JOUBERT (Music Supervision, Orchestrations, & Music Arrangements). Grammy and Emmy Award nominee. Credits include Broadway’s The Color Purple; Caroline, or Change (Roundabout); Motown The Musical (music director); Disaster; Leap of Faith. Off-Broadway: Carmen Jones, Violet, Hercules (Paper Mill). TV: “Smash.” Film: Respect, Nights in Rodanthe.

Recording: Patti LaBelle, Ashford & Simpson, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, Cissy Houston, Jennifer Holiday, Norm Lewis, Tom Kitt, Fantasia, Stephanie Mills

ALLEN RENÉ LOUIS (Vocal Arrangements, Music Arrangements) is a Grammynominated Haitian-American producer, arranger, composer, and creative director. His artistry is deeply rooted in his cultural background and church upbringing. He has recently collaborated with Yale Repertory Theatre, National Theatre of Parramatta, Australia and The American Theatre Wing. Louis is currently the Artistic Director of the Grammy Award-nominated and Tony Award Honors recipient Broadway Inspirational Voices @iamallenlouis

ADAM BLACKSTONE (Dance Music Arranger) Multifaceted musician, Tony nominated, Emmy-winning music director, and CEO of BASSic Black Entertainment. His Legacy albums received 2023 and 2024 Grammy nominations. His credits as MD include “The Super Bowl Halftime Show”, Oscars and NBC’s “That’s My Jam.” For this project, Blackstone partnered with musician and super producer Terence Vaughn (Hamilton, Grammys, SuperBowl).

HANNAH BEACHLER (Scenic Design) is a prolific production designer with an affinity for evocative designs and visuals. She is the first African American to be nominated for and win an Academy Award for her work on Marvel’s Black Panther (directed by Ryan Coogler). She returned for its highly anticipated sequel, Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Additional credits include Fruitvale Station, Creed, and Moonlight (Oscar winner).

SHAREN DAVIS (Costume Design) is an Emmy Award-winning and twice Academy Award nominated costume designer. She received an Emmy for HBO’s “Watchman” and was nominated for HBO’s “Westworld.” Her two Oscar nominations were for Dreamgirls and Ray. Sharen has designed for film and television for over 20 years. Noteworthy credits include King Richard, The Help, Django Unchained and Magnificent Seven.

RYAN J. O’GARA (Lighting Design). Broadway: Thoughts of a Colored Man. National Tours: (select): Mystic Pizza, On Your Feet!, MDQ- Christmas, Blippi and A Night with Janis Joplin. Select: Cirque, Norwegian Cruise Line, Tokyo DisneySea, NY City Opera, Paper Mill, Walnut Street, Drury Lane, TUTS, New Victory Theatre, Capital Repertory and Bristol Riverside Theatre (2016 Barrymore). ALD for over 25 Broadway productions. Graduated from UNCSA. ryanogara.com

JON WESTON (Sound Design). Broadway: Parade; Paradise Square; An American in Paris; Prince of Broadway; She Loves Me;

On the 20th Century; You Can’t Take it With You; The Bridges of Madison County; How to Succeed…; 13 the Musical; The Color Purple; Caroline, or Change; Thoroughly Modern Millie. Many national tour, West End and international credits.

DANIEL BRODIE (Video and Projection Design) is a New York-based video and projection designer. Credits include Broadway and West End productions of Motown: The Musical, The Wiz, Disney’s Aladdin, and Jekyll & Hyde. Projection designer for Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella in-the-round at Royal Albert Hall and Winter’s Tale. Projection designer for MacArthur Fellow Basil Twist’s Titon et l’Aurore and Rite of Spring. Love to Caitlin and Ezra.

CHARLES G. LAPOINTE (Hair and Wig Design). Award winning designer who maintains a highly successful career on stages throughout the United States and abroad. Numerous Broadway, touring, regional theatre and international productions including Hamilton (Make-Up Artists/Hair Stylist Guild Award), MJ, Tommy, SIX, Doubt, Beetlejuice, The Cher Show (Drama Desk Award); SpongeBob SquarePants (Drama Desk Award)

Television: Emmy nominations for “The Wiz Live!” and “Jesus Christ Superstar Live.”

KIRK CAMBRIDGE-DEL PESCHE (Makeup Design). A multiculturated Vincentian born, naturalized American. Broadway: The Wiz, Lempicka, The Notebook, Merrily We Roll Along, JaJa’s African Hair Braiding Salon, Camelot, Ain’t No Mo, The Piano Lesso, Into The Woods, For Colored Girls, Strange Loop, POTUS, Skin Of Our Teeth, Skelton Crew, Clyde’s, Trouble In Mind. National tours: The Wiz and Into The Woods. International: Disney’s Hercules

THE TRC COMPANY (Casting). Broadway: Dead Outlaw, BOOP! The Musical, Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her, Left on Tenth, The Outsiders, SIX, Aladdin. National tours: The Phantom of the Opera, Water for Elephants, Beauty and The Beast, Back To The Future, Mamma Mia!, Les Misérables. The TRC Company is proud to continue the casting legacy of Tara Rubin Casting and Johnson-Liff Casting.

VICTOR SIMONSON (Music Director). Tours: MJ The Musical, Hamilton (And Peggy), Lion King (Rafiki), Color Purple (1st National). Regional: West Side Story; Wicked (Kennedy Center); Shout, Sister, Shout (Ford’s Theater). CD: “Victory, Introducing Victor Simonson.” Composer of the Groundbreaking HipHopera Stomping Grounds. All Praise to God for my wife, Ciara and two children, Victoria and Immanuel!

KATHY FABIAN/PROPSTAR (Production Properties Supervisor) has created props for over 90 Broadway productions. Most

recently: The Hills of California, The Heart of Rock and Roll, The Wiz, I Need That, Purlie Victorious, Camelot, Pictures from Home, Between Riverside and Crazy, The Piano Lesson, POTUS, and American Buffalo. OffBroadway: Night of the Iguana, Trevor. TV: “Annie Live!”

MICHAEL AARONS (Music Coordinator). Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Broadway: The Heart of Rock and Roll, & Juliet, Moulin Rouge!, Hamilton, Aladdin. Upcoming Broadway: Sunset Blvd., Tammy Faye, Boop!, Smash, The Devil Wears Prada. OffBroadway: Little Shop of Horrors. Current tours: Hamilton, Aladdin, Frozen, Company, Mamma Mia!, Moulin Rouge!, Jagged Little Pill. www.m2music.nyc

RANDY COHEN KEYBAORD LLC (Synthesizer Programmer) has programmed or provided keyboard tech services for over 100 Broadway shows including Hamilton, The Book of Moron, Dear Evan Hansen, In the Heights and Kinky Boots. TV: “Sesame Street,” “Electric Company.” Thanks to Sam, Time and Nick.

EMILY MADIGAN (Associate Director). Regional Choreography credits: Park Square Theatre: A Raisin in the Sun; Minneapolis Musical Theatre: Leap Of Faith, Toxic Avenger; Rathaus Presents: Cabarave #sexuality, MadHaus, Love.Trumps.Hate, Light the World, Love Languages. Associate Choreographer credits: The Notebook, Broadway. Regional: Children’s Theatre Company: An American Tail; Ford’s Theatre: Shout Sister Shout; Chicago Shakespeare Theater: The Notebook: Olney Theatre Center: AD 16; Marriott Theatre: Grease, Footloose; Seattle Rep: Shout Sister Shout.

ASHLEY SELDON (Associate Choreographer), a Washington DC native and University of the Arts alumna, is a dynamic, classically trained dancer who has toured with legends like Beyoncé, Rihanna, Usher, Pharell, and Megan Thee Stallion. She assisted choreography for The Wiz on Broadway and continues to shine across TV and stage. Most recently, she co-choreographed Mariah Carey’s Vegas residency, The Celebration of MiMi, and her latest Christmas tour.

JUSTIN MYHRE (Production Stage Manager). Broadway/National Tour: Girl From the North Country, Jagged Little Pill, The Prom, Jersey Boys, Summer: the Donna Summer Musical, The Great Society. Off-Broadway: Roundabout Theatre Company, The New Group, New York Theatre Workshop, Page 73. Regional: Weston Playhouse, Barrington Stage. BA: Vassar College. @justcatsinspace HOLLIS DUGGANS-QUEENSS (Stage Manager). New York: Fairycakes, Space Dogs, 2021 Tony Awards. National Tour: Les Misérables, To Kill a Mockingbird, Warriors Don’t Cry (TheaterWorks USA).

Regional: The Producers, My Three Angels, and You Can’t Take It with You at Barnstormers Theater.

KYRAH MICHAEL (Assistant Stage Manager) Received her BFA from Montclair State University where she studied stage management. She is excited to be joining The Wiz! Her previous touring experience includes: The Book of Mormon and Mean Girls. Her other previous works includes being a production assistant during the PreBroadway workshop of Some Like it Hot, and for The Book of Mormon Broadway post pandemic in 2021.

JEFF MENSCH (Company Manager) (he/him) is thrilled to be in the wonderful world of Oz with this company! Other favorite journeys of the imagination: Gander, NL with Come From Away (Assoc.), London for My Fair Lady, The Bronx for A Bronx Tale, Dublin for Once, and 1956 Memphis for Million Dollar Quartet. Go everywhere you can!

JOI HENRY (Assistant Company Manager) has been a theater enthusiast her entire life and thanks God for every opportunity she is granted. Past credits include Jaja’s African Hair Braiding regional tour (u/s), Pete the Cat’s Hollywood Adventure (Stage, Production and Tour Manager), and Gas South Theater (Production Coordinator and Tech Supervisor). IG @joihenry_

BOND THEATRICAL (Tour Marketing & Publicity) is an independently-owned theatrical booking, marketing and publicity company representing award-winning Broadway shows and live entertainment properties. Current shows include: & Juliet, A Beautiful Noise, Annie, Champions of Magic, Clue, Dear Evan Hansen, Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, Elf, Hell’s Kitchen, Jersey Boys, Les Misérables, Life of Pi, Little Shop of Horrors, Maybe Happy Ending, MJ, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Old Friends, Peter Pan, Sailor Moon, Shucked, SIX, Spamalot, Stereophonic, Swept Away, The Heart of Rock and Roll, The Phantom of the Opera, The Who’s Tommy, The Wiz, Tina — The Tina Turner Musical and Water for Elephants. BondTheatrical.com

THE BOOKING GROUP (Tour Booking Agency) has represented 28 Tony Awardwinning Best Musicals and Plays. Current tours include The Book of Mormon, Chicago, Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen, Funny Girl, Hadestown, Hamilton, Mamma Mia!, Mean Girls, MJ The Musical, Mrs. Doubtfire, Parade, Pretty Woman, Six, Some Like It Hot, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical, and The Wiz. Future tours include: A Wonderful World, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, The Karate Kid, The Notebook, and Suffs.

B SCENE (Sponsorship Agency) creates authentic alliances for some of the world’s most dynamic brands, including PGA, U.S. Figure Skating and Broadway. Led by Tim

Birch, Randy Domain, Joe Hamlin and Gina Vernaci, they bring the best practices of fan-driven approaches from pro sports to live performances and cultural partnerships. Bscene.net

GENTRY & ASSOCIATES (General Manager) has managed nearly 250 national and international touring theatrical productions over the past 25 years. Current and upcoming productions include A Beautiful Noise, Beetlejuice, The Book of Mormon, Come From Away, Funny Girl, The Great Gatsby Les Misérables, Life of Pi, Mean Girls, Peter Pan, Cameron Mackintosh presents Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, The Sound of Music and The Wiz.

MIMI INTAGLIATA (Executive Producer) (she/her) has spent 30+ years working in theatrical production as a stage manager, production manager, and producer. Credits: Director of Production Operations, Disney Theatrical Group - Beauty and the Beast (Shanghai Disneyland Resort), Frozen (Broadway), Newsies the Musical (national tour, theatrical film), The Lion King (Rafiki tour), developmental productions of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Shakespeare in Love. Director of Production, Paper Mill Playhouse – over 40 productions including the world premiere of Newsies the Musical, the North American premiere of the 25th Anniversary tour of Les Misérables (in partnership with NETworks). Production Manager, The Dodgers - 42nd Street (Broadway/Tour), Urinetown (Broadway/ Tour), and Bare: A Pop Opera (original OffBroadway), among others. She and her wife, Alicia Duran, are proud parents of their two children, Celeste and Lucas.

KRISTIN CASKEY (Producer) is the U.S. Chief Content Officer of ATGE Entertainment. Together with Mike Isaacson, lead producer credits include upcoming Last Five Years, Appropriate (Tony Award), Parade (Tony Award), David Byrne’s American Utopia (Tony Award), Gutenberg – The Musical, Plaza Suite (Broadway and West End), Fun Home (Tony Award), Legally Blonde (Olivier Award), and Thoroughly Modern Millie (Tony Award). She is the current Chair of The Broadway League.

MIKE ISAACSON (Producer) With Kristin Caskey more than 30 Broadway, London, Off-Broadway and national tours. Recent: Appropriate (Tony), Parade (Tony), Plaza Suite, David Byrne’s American Utopia (Tony), Fun Home (Tony). Other: Legally Blonde The Musical (Olivier), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Tony). 14th season as Artistic Director and Executive Producer of The Muny.

BRIAN ANTHONY MORELAND (Producer) Tony-nominated for August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. Other works: Macbeth, American Buffalo Lifespan of a Fact. Named to Ebony’s Power 100 list and Variety’s Top 10 Watch. Moreland is a creative lead

producer with a passion for universal stories that bring new narratives to the stage. Brian devotes his spare time to: TCG, Theatre Development Fund, BC/EFA Trustee, American Academy Dramatic Arts Trustee and serves on The Board of Governors for The Broadway League.

KANDI BURRUSS & TODD TUCKER (Producers). Tony-nominated producers of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. Todd Tucker and Kandi Burruss-Tucker are TV’s favorite power couple. They are producers of music, television, film and the Broadway stage, as well as successful entrepreneurs and restauranteurs. Together, the pair own a popular restaurant group and run a fullservice production company while raising four beautiful children.

NETWORKS PRESENTATIONS (Producer) is an industry-leading producer of touring theatrical productions, committed to delivering quality entertainment to audiences worldwide for more than 25 years. Current and upcoming productions include A Beautiful Noise, Beetlejuice, The Book of Mormon, Come From Away, Funny Girl, The Great Gatsby, Les Misérables, Life of Pi, Mean Girls, Peter Pan, Cameron Mackintosh presents Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, The Sound of Music and The Wiz.

JAMES L. NEDERLANDER (Co-Producer) President of Nederlander Organization. Credits: The Outsiders, Sunset Blvd, Kimberly Akimbo, Some Like It Hot, Titanique, MJ, Mr. Saturday Night starring Billy Crystal, Tina, The Lehman Trilogy, The Band’s Visit, On Your Feet!, The Elephant Man, Next to Normal, The Color Purple, Movin’ Out, and many more.

HUDSONMANN (Co-Producer) cultivates content and experiences rooted in research and analysis of history, place, and sociopolitical landscape. Nicole Hudson and Dwayne Mann met in April 1996 in line for $20 Rent tickets. @thehudsonmannbridge thehudsonmannbridge.com

INDEPENDENT PRESENTERS NETWORK (Co-Producer) Over 30 presenters of touring Broadway in the U.S., U.K. and Asia. Recent/ Upcoming: & Juliet, The Devil Wears Prada, The Notebook, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Some Like It Hot.

AMANDA DUBOIS PRODUCTIONS/ THE SEED GROUP (Co-Producer) Amanda has been an independent producer since 2004 on Broadway, Off Broadway and touring. The Seed Group is a producing collective committed to new audiences and new works.

SPENCER ROSS/STEPHANIE COWAN (Co-Producer) are honored to be a part of this incredible revival of The Wiz. In the theatre and amongst this company we’ve truly found “home.”

TERRY SCHNUCK/GABRIELLE PALITZ

(Co-Producer). Terry Schnuck: Credits: Shucked; Plaza Suite; The Prom; Bandstand; Fun Home; Beautiful; Spring Awakening. Gabrielle Palitz: 25 critically acclaimed Broadway shows, numerous tours. Thrilled for this Brand New Day!

GINA VERNACI (Co-Producer) spent much of her career producing and presenting shows at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square, ultimately serving as President and CEO. For Act II, The Wiz is her producing entree onto Broadway.

MARLENE & GARY COHEN (Co-Producer) Broadway, world tours and West End. Olivier winner: Come From Away, Sunset Blvd, Enemy of the People. Upcoming: Smash, Othello, Glengarry Glen Ross. Development: The Producers, The War of the Roses.

FAKSTON PRODUCTIONS (Co-Producer) Ken Fakler and Dan Stone are a Tony Awardwinning co-producing team known for their work on Dear Evan Hansen, Beautiful, The Inheritance, Some Like It Hot, Parade, Company, and Funny Girl.

GABRIELLE GLORE (Co-Producer) is an Emmy-nominated creative producer (Sylvie’s Love) developing film and TV projects under the GLORIFIED production banner. She serves on the boards of The Moth and MoCADA.

HAFFNER-WRIGHT THEATRICALS

(Co-Producer). Sherry Wright and Craig Haffner are award-winning producers of stage and screen. Developing for BroadwayMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, the musical (Taylor Mac, Jason Robert Brown).

JOHN GORE ORGANIZATION (Co-Producer). Family of companies includes Broadway Across America and Broadway.com, under the supervision of 22-time Tony-winning producer John Gore. Productions include: MJ, Moulin Rouge!, The Outsiders, Gypsy.

WILLETTE AND MANNY KLAUSNER

(Co-Producer). Hadestown, MJ Musical, Gypsy, Sunset Blvd, Good Night Good Luck, John Proctor, Cabaret, Buena Vista Social Club, Maybe Happy Ending, Romeo Juliet, Kowalski. London: Devil Wears Prada, Operation Mincemeat, Titanique

RUNYONLAND PRODUCTIONS

(Co-Producer) is a Tony Award-winning production company led by Thomas Laub and Alyah Chanelle Scott along with partner Mike Mosallam that exists to tell unapologetically bold stories.

ERICA LYNN SCHWARTZ (Co-Producer) Tony Award-winning producer with her company Avalon Road Productions. Broadway: Parade, David Byrne’s American Utopia, Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Reasons to Be Pretty. Vice President of theatrical programming for ATG. Avalonroad.net.

THE SHUBERT ORGANIZATION

(Co-Producer) Under the leadership of Robert E. Wankel, Shubert is Broadway’s largest theatre owner and the producer of hundreds of plays and musicals, including several new shows this season.

THE ARACA GROUP (Co-Producer) is a Tony Award-winning Broadway producing and merchandising company founded in 1997 by partners Matthew Rego, Michael Rego and Hank Unger. araca.com

BLAKEMAN-ROBINSON ENTERTAINMENT

(Co-Producer) led by Northwestern alums Marc Blakeman (blakemanentertainment.com) and Nolan Robinson (nolanfrobinson.com).

DKIM CALDWELL/MICKALENE THOMAS

(Co-Producer) The Caldwells are arts supporters with backgrounds in technology and higher education. Mickalene Thomas is an influential multidisciplinary artist, TonyAward nominated co-producer, curator, educator and mentor.

DMQR PRODUCTIONS / JASON TURCHIN

(Co-Producer) DMQR Productions: Anant Das, Afsheen Misaghi, Carmen A. Quinones and Alexander Robertson. DMQRprod.com. Jason Turchin and Kira Turchin are founders of The Broadway Investor’s Club. investingbroadway.com. @investingbroadway

EPIC THEATRICALS/ KAREN P. JOHNSTON

(Co-Producer) Michael A. Alden, Dale Badway, Karen Johnston and Brad Blume. Multiple Tony, Emmy, Olivier Award winners.

JOEL GLASSMAN/WESTIN HICKS

(Co-Producer). Joel Glassman and Westin Hicks are theatre producers/managers in NYC. Credits: The Wiz (Broadway/Tour), The Last Five Years (Broadway).

JAMROCK PRODUCTIONS/SONYA

HOUSTON PRODUCTIONS (Co-Producer). Jamrock Productions, founded May 2021, credits include Pass Over, Death of a Salesman and Tony-nominated Fat Ham. Sonya Houston Productions: Broadway Investor of Kimberly Akimbo (Tony Award). philanthropist, filmmaker, EP of documentaries and indie films, multitalented trailblazer.

SALLY JOHNSTON / ANN SCOTT (Co-Producer). Sally, a St. Louis native, has long invested in local arts, as well as Broadway shows. Ann has loved supporting Fun Home, The Inheritance, Prima Facie, and The Wiz.

JUDITH MANOCHERIAN / THEATRE NERD

PRODUCTIONS (Co-Producer) Judith Manocherian: Pictures From Home, Great Society, The Prom, Lifespan of a Fact, Once on This Island (Tony). Theatre Nerd Productions: Thoughts of a Colored Man, A Doll’s House, A Sherlock Carol, Suffs and “After Forever” the series (Emmy awardwinning).

JOSEPH F. ORTMEYER (Co-Producer). Humbled and so grateful to be part of this amazing production. Congratulations and break legs to all involved in bringing this journey to life. Love to Mike and Liz.

ATG ENTERTAINMENT (Producer) A world leader in live entertainment, ATG Entertainment owns, operates or programs 73 of the world’s most iconic venues across the U.K., the U.S. and Central Europe. Recent and upcoming New York productions include The Last Five Years, Appropriate (Tony Award), Gutenberg! The Musical; Cabaret, Parade (Tony Award); A Doll’s House; Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite; David Byrne’s American Utopia (Special Tony Award); Betrayal; Sea Wall/A Life; and Sunday in the Park with George.

Opening Night: February 25, 2024

STAFF FOR THE WIZ

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Mimi Intagliata

GENERAL MANAGEMENT

Gentry & Associates

Gregory Vander Ploeg

Maia Sutton

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

NETworks Presentations

Jason Juenker

Hector Guivas Alex Williams

TOUR MARKETING & PUBLICITY BOND THEATRICAL bondtheatrical.com

TOUR MARKETING & PUBLICITY

Temah Higgins Mollie Mann DJ Martin

Marc Viscardi Wendy Roberts Jenny Bates

Linda Stewart Ayanna Jernigan

TOUR BOOKING AGENCY

THE BOOKING GROUP

Meredith Blair, Kara Gebhart

Laura Kolarik, Stephanie Ditman, Sophie Tiesler & Kelsey Ballard thebookinggroup.com

CASTING

The TRC Company

Claire Burke CSA, Kevin Metzger-Timson CSA, Xavier Rubiano CSA, Peter Van Dam CSA, Tara Rubin CSA, Merri Sugarman CSA, Louis DiPaolo CSA, Spencer Gualdoni CSA, Olivia Paige West CSA, Frankie Ramirez CSA

Production Stage Manager ................................ Justin Myhre

Stage Manager Hollis Duggans-Queenss

Assistant Stage Manager Kyrah Michael

Company Manager Jeff Mensch

Associate Company Manager Joi Henry

Associate Scenic Designer .......................... Matthew Buttrey

Associate Costume Designer Abby Hahn

Assistant Costume Designer David Hyman, Courtney Irizarry

Assistant Costume Coordinator Haley Silver

Associate Wig / Hair Designer Rachael Geier

Assistant Make-Up Designer ........................... Geneva Collins

Associate Sound Designers John Millerd, Jacob Montgomery

Sound Programmer

Jacob Montgomery

Associate Lighting Designer Natali Arco

Assistant Lighting Designer ........................... Stephen Smart

Moving Light Programmer Jonah Camiel

Associate Projection & Video Designer Brittany Bland

Assistant Projection & Video Designer Abigail Bevan

Video Programmer

Lead Animator

Don Ness Cieslik

Gabriel Aronson

Production Electrician Robert Virzera

Production Sound Mike Deyo

Production Video Daniel Mueller

Head Carpenter Will Blair

Assistant Carpenter

Flyman

Aurelia Lyman

Andrew Boucher

Head Electrician Kay Hawley

Assistant Electrician ..................... Price Foster, Dylan Janish

Head Sound Graham McNeil

Assistant Sound Tristan King

Head Props

Rico Slominski

Assistant Props Eve Sigmon

Wardrobe Supervisor ................................... Tiffany Janiczek

Assistant Wardrobe Supervisor Topher Jones

Hair & Make-up Supervisor

Tyree “Ty” Robinson

Hair & Make-up Assistant Supervisor Dawnatella Periquito

Fight Director Rod Kinter

Production Props Supervisor ............................ Kathy Fabian

Associate Props Supervisor John Estep

Crew Swing Harley Scherrbaum

Production Assistants Nicholas Carlstrom, Megan Ciszek, Gabriella Shead, Abby VandenBrul

Merchandising

The Araca Group

Merchandise Manager Klevar Mason

Marketing Materials AKA

Promotional Video .................... Umbrella Room, Tour Design

Photography Jeremy Daniel

Tour Marketing & Publicity Office BOND Theatrical

Melissa Cohen, Jesse Daniels, Alexandra De La Cerda, Caroline Frawley, Bridget Gross, Tony Joy

Steph Kelleher, Deborah Mann, Harrison Mootoo, Scotland Newton, Elisabeth Reyes

Physical Therapy Ashley Rudoph NEURO TOUR Physical Therapy, Inc.

Safety Consultant Bryan Huneycutt

Accounting .............................. NETworks Presentations LLC

Legal Services F. Richard Pappas, Esq., David F. Schwartz, Esq., Gray Schwartz LLP

HR Support K+K Reset, LLC

Housing ...................................................... Road Concierge

Travel Agency Kessler & Co. / Direct Travel

Trucking Clark Transfer

WizMusical.com

Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok: @TheWizBway FOR NETWORKS PRESENTATIONS

Chief Executive Officer

Orin Wolf

President/Chief Production Officer Seth Wenig

Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operating Officer Margaret Daniel

Business Affairs

Scott W. Jackson

Executive Producers Mimi Intagliata, Trinity Wheeler

Associate Producer Hannah Rosenthal

Vice President of Finance

Scott Levine

Sr. Director/Finance ........................................... John Kinna

Controller

Director of Tour Accounting

Jennifer Gifford

Laura S. Carey

Tax Director Pat Guerieri

Accounts Payables & Receivables Clerk Lisa Loveless

Sr. Director, Booking & Engagements ................. Amanda Laird

Directors, Booking & Engagements

Director of Sales

Director of Marketing

Sr. Director/General Management

Stacey Burns, Colin Byrne

Zach Stevenson

Heather Hess

Gregory Vander Ploeg

General Managers ............ Madeline McCluskey, Heather Moss, Steven Varon-Moore

Associate General Manager

Sr. Director/Production Management

Sr. Production Manager

Maia Sutton

Jason Juenker

Hector Guivas

Production Managers............ Matthew Reardon, Alex Williams

Technical Director pesci

Production Coordinator

Aimeé Mangual Pagán

Director of Operations Pearce Landry-Wegener

Resource Director

People Operations/Payroll Manager

Executive Assistant

Office Manager

Kayla Rooplal

Sara Clayton

Isabella Schiavon

Michelle Adye

Music Coordinator ............................................ John Mezzio

Warehouse Manager Joseph Spratt

Warehouse Costume Manager Bobby Maglaughlin

Warehouse Costume Shop Assistant Grace Santamaria

CREDITS

Scenic Elements provided by Hudson Scenic Studio Inc.

Scenery Built and Fabricated by F&D Scene Changes, Ltd. PRG Scenic Technologies and Automation provided by Creative Conners. Lighting Equipment from PRG Broadway. Audio Equipment by HDL LLC - Audio and PRG Broadway. Video Equipment from Sound Associates Inc. Specialty Props by Propstar LLC, BB Props, The Specialists LTD. deBoer Media group. Flame Treatment by Turning Star, Inc. Costumes by Western Costume, Eric Winterling Inc, Parson Meares, Arel Studios, Bethany Joy Costumes, Black Heath Costumes, SoHarlem, Fritz Masten, Handsome Little Devils, Sam Hill Studio with Jeff Sturdivant and Nicholas Putvinski, Arnold Levine Millinery, Lynne Macky Millinery, Jeff Fender Studios, Julienne Krobath, Robin Ankerich, JC Krajeck. Wigs by CGL Wig Design. Hochi Asiatico, Colin Davis Jones Studio, Muto LIttle, All Stitch/Valerie Gruner.

Rehearsed at NEW 42nd Street Studios, 229 W 42nd Street, New York, NY.

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Mark Shackett, Foresight Theatricals; NAC Entertainment and Auditorium Theatre, Rochester, NY; Al Nocciolino, President and CEO, NAC Entertainment Ltd.

Insurance Broker Services

EPIC Entertainment & Sports

Financial Services and banking arrangements by Customers Bank and Flagstar Bank N.A.

The Actors and Stage Managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers of the United States.

The Musicians employed in this production are members of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada.

The Director and Choreographer are members of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc., an independent national labor union.

The Press Agents and Company Managers employed in this production are represented by the Association of Theatrical Press Agents & Managers.

Backstage employees are represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (or I.A.T.S.E.).

United Scenic Artists represents designers and scenic artists for the American Theatre.

This production is produced by a member of The Broadway League in collaboration with our professional union-represented employees.

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